Jake joined the PLNU Baseball coaching staff as an Assistant Coach ahead of the 2026 season.
He previously served as an assistant coach at San Diego Mesa College. In 2024, the Olympians went 24-20 and reached the CCCAA Super Regionals for the first time since 2019. Catcher Landen Bailey earned First Team All-Conference honors under Rico’s guidance. Across his three seasons, Rico developed multiple all-conference catchers, while also overseeing field maintenance and assisting in the role of Athletic Retention Technician.
Prior to Mesa, Jake served as a volunteer assistant coach at NCAA Division II Cal State San Marcos from 2020–2022, working under Head Coach Matt Guiliano. In 2022, RHP Garrett Apker signed with the Detroit Tigers.
Rico was the manager of the San Diego Waves summer collegiate team from 2023-2025, a program known for its annual trips to the NBC World Series in Wichita, Kansas, and the Midnight Sun Game in Alaska. The Waves have competed in the WBA, PSL, and CCL respectively.Â
As a player, Rico spent his senior season (2019) at Cal State San Marcos, where he earned the team’s Cougar Award and posted a .423 slugging percentage, a .354 on-base percentage, and threw out 33% of base stealers. He previously played two seasons at Sonoma State (2017–2018) and began his collegiate career at San Diego Mesa (2015–2016), earning All-Conference Honorable Mention both years as the team’s starting catcher.
Rico holds an M.S. in Exercise Science from California Baptist University, a B.A. from CSU San Marcos, and an A.A. from San Diego Mesa College. A graduate of Scripps Ranch High School, he resides in San Diego with his wife, Ashley.
